Labour 'cannot meet its pledge of 400,000 new green jobs'

Labour has been accused of misleading voters over its pledge to create 400,000 "green jobs" by 2015 after the government's own figures last month slashed growth forecasts for the sector, making the target almost impossible to achieve.

The jobs target originally came from a report commissioned by the government on growth prospects for the green sector, which was published last March as part of its vaunted "low-carbon industrial strategy". But last month, the same consultancy forecast that the green economy would grow more than 33% slower than it had predicted last year.

The report, which was not publicised but has been obtained by the Observer, also found that just 1,675 extra green jobs were created in the year to last March, making the 2015 target even more unlikely to be reached.

Labour has put its policy of supporting low carbon industries such as wind turbine manufacturers at the heart of its economic policy. Business secretary Lord Mandelson and energy and climate change secretary Ed Miliband have argued that promoting these new industries will reduce the economy's dependence on the City and spread wealth more evenly around Britain.

But Simon Hughes, shadow energy and climate change secretary for the Liberal Democrats, said Labour's failure to change its pledge in line with its own revised official forecasts was another example of the party being more interested in presentation than delivery.

"Ed Miliband often talks a good talk, but whether on air quality, renewable energy, biodiversity, fuel poverty or zero-carbon schools, missed targets have been one of the clearest features of this Labour government," he said.

Under the government's criteria, the green economy includes firms involved in sectors such as renewable energy, environmental consultancy, waste, fuel-efficient cars, carbon trading and energy efficiency. Last month's government-commissioned report from the Innovas consultancy estimated that the sector would grow on average by just under 3.5% a year up to 2015, compared with its forecast in March 2009 of 5.5% average annual growth. It blamed the recession, which has hit manufacturers particularly hard, for the downgraded estimate. It also said that job creation targets were missed for the year to March last year.

A Labour spokeswoman admitted that the target for the green economy to employ an extra 400,000 workers, up from about 900,000 now, was ambitious but said it was still achievable. She did not explain why the party's manifesto had not reduced its jobs target in the light of the lower growth forecasts.

The report also shows that the number of green jobs in the north-east and east of England, earmarked by the government as a hubs for renewable industries, fell last year. Firms involved in carbon finance, largely based in the City, saw the biggest expansion.

Manufacturing employers' group the EEF said that the north-east and east of England faced a "make or break" year as companies such as General Electric and Siemens decided whether to go ahead with plans to build turbine manufacturing facilities. Roger Salomone, the EEF's energy adviser, said these regions needed to maintain a strong industrial base in order to attract investment.

He added: "When governments make these kinds of job targets I am always sceptical … It would be churlish to be overly critical of the low-carbon industrial strategy as a lot of progress is being made. But it's crucial that government does everything to see through these investments over the next decade."